A moment in time
What the shifting workplace focus might really need to get over time panic.
I'm really glad we're over the whole "squeeze whatever you can out of the day" and "you gotta want it" rhetoric. It is sad to see so many workplaces are panicking and resisting the change in appetite though.
And look, I get it. Some places are really afraid that there are hours that could be tapped through overtime, skipping lunch, and pushing people to stay as connected as possible.
But focussing on the length of time it takes to do something, or the contact hours you have with an employee doesn't indicate the quality of the work product. It's got a lot more to do with the control you don't want to lose over employees.
Want to check in with your time vs productivity measurements?
Ask yourself -
1) Are we recognising and rewarding results over visibility?
2) Are we giving people enough time to be truly innovative and creative?
3) Are we trying to measure work product quality by time-based metrics because we lack less tangible ways to do it?